110% Discount!

All friends and likers of Mississippi Earrings who've had a chat with us on Whatsapp for buying or enquiring know these words:

We don't price in a manner that we can pretend to offer huge discounts! Hope you understand.

We registered on Snapdeal and some other platforms quite some time back and so we keep getting various SMSes/emails from them.

By and large, whenever we had conversations regarding 'sales', the representatives of these platforms seemed to suggest to us: GIVE DISCOUNTS, INCREASE SALES. And we never could quite do that. And we always found ourselves gaping at claims of discounts offered by a good number of jewelry sellers.

But this SMS above surely amused us. Pleasantly indeed. :)

What is 'real' jewelry?

Quite a few visitors at Mississippi say, "We wear only 'real'." On seeing some of our designs they say, "Oh, this! This we have in 'real'."

At best, this reality business only amuses us.

What is it that we see in the above pic? Real or unreal.

When visitors utter 'real', they seem to mean gold. They seem to mean diamonds. They seem to mean hyper-expensive.

The word 'jewelry', if traced back to the origins, actually simply means 'play of light'. (You can find out the etymology of the word through Google.) In the light of the meaning of 'play of light', jewelry is anything and everything. All comes to down how a piece of jewelry is composed to look.

But then, if it's so 'real' and hyper-expensive, it will sit in the locker most of the time. Where is the play? Where is the light? Where is that desirable look?

For us, when you are able to enjoy the play of light without any fear or worry, it's real.

Is your look real? Or is the jewelry that's sitting in the locker real?

And the conning continues...

A good number of patrons who come to our store are surprised by what we share with them.

So in today's (28th April 2014) TOI newspaper, you might've come across this piece of 'news'. You can check it online here. Considering how easy it is for them to influence the reader into believing something, it's a rather pathetic piece of 'journalism'.

They've mentioned 5 names here. 3 of them categorized under FAUX DIAMONDS. So let me fail the faux first.

CZ = American Diamond. Again, CZ = American Diamond. Which means, there shouldn't be a price difference. Having said that , CZs come from various manufacturers who claim some differences. So yeah, CZs are also branded products. Depending on the brand, one pays the price. And indeed, the prices span a wide range. And that 1 Carat prices for each of these Faux Diamonds that this girl, Hemali Chhapia-Shah the journalist, has mentioned are way off the mark.

The third Faux Diamond, Moissanite, doesn't come that cheap. Unless it's a Faux Moissanite. Or someone's figured out the patented making process and is making it illegally. More on this later in this very same post...

Coming to Diamonds, if you just make a casual search on Google, you'd realize that Natural Diamonds and Lab-made Diamonds are priced almost equally across the web. (Pardon me, if something's changed very recently. I guess not.) Why so?

The article I've linked to above has an explanation:

The website of Gemesis, one of the companies that manufactures diamonds via the CVD and HPHT methods, claims the only differentiator between the diamonds they produce and the natural stones is the point of origin. "Available in the purest Type IIa, colorless and rare, these diamonds possess the same exceptional cut, color and clarity, as well as identical chemical, optical and physical characteristics as high-quality mined diamonds," states the company.

You get that, no?

Now the moot point about diamonds and faux diamonds.

What are the reasons that drive this market for diamonds and faux diamonds? That brilliant brilliant slogan 'Diamonds are forever'. Or that investment that can be reaped at an appropriate time. Or that desire to be pampered rather extravagantly and therefore, be reassured of your man's commitment. Or that glitter that lights up a face (or a look).

You can think of more reasons and I guess they would be offshoots of the above.

Why are diamonds so expensive? Why is Moissanite so expensive, not in comparison to diamonds but in comparison to CZ?

For diamonds, ask De Beers. For Moissanite, ask Charles & Colvard. No, I am not seeking an escape here. Who among us knows the cost of the manufacturing these precious stones? Is it the cost of manufacturing that determines prices? Or is it the charm of a lovely face that makes these stones so desirable? And exactly what is the value of the charm of the woman's face you love?

I leave the answers to your own guesses and optical senses :).

Lastly, from what we've studied while running Mississippi Earrings, we've come to understand that it's really really difficult to determine if a diamond is a Natural Diamond or Lab-made (or man-made) Diamond. The world simply goes by the word of the jeweler that it buys from. But what your investment in forever?! Your guess is as good as mine.

Last issue.

What gives this woman Hemali Chhapia-Shah such misguided confidence to write such an article and occupy the space on a first page on TOI? Here's her record as shown on TOI website today, 28th April 2014. She's written 9 articles in total. All on education, except the one I've anchored this post on.

Diamond or not, isn't the point. To con or not to, is the meta-physical issue. Or let's ask, "What's conning?"

Shapes of gemstones

Aesthetic judgments of jewelry largely depend on recognition of shapes or asking for the likable shapes. I haven't heard more than 1% of the customers who've visited Mississippi Earrings naming the shapes they like or want. And that makes it difficult for them to ask for the stuff they really have in mind, or for us to give them stuff that they really want.

This should help a little bit. There's over-all form of jewelry and then there are forms of gemstones used therein. Will talk about the over-all form of jewelry in the following posts.

Why do earlobes tear?

So many prospects/patrons who visit our shop complain that their earlobes are stretched and cut because of heavy earrings. One of the reasons for earrings to turn out heavy is that they are made in gold. Yes, given the same volume, gold is far far heavier than silver. And earlobes are very sensitive to weight. So we created this little piece of information...

Uniqueness, blingness and massiness

Here are a few inferences on the three things mentioned in the subject. These are based on my observations and experience at Mississippi. The inferences could overlap.

Those who rely only on their looks to muster any kind of attention but do not want to spend a lot will spend on the most ordinary, non-distinct but full-of-bling designs. Why? They want to be noticed but they do not want to stand out. Bling makes them noticeable and design doesn't make them stand out at all. If I go a little further, such people would unconsciously develop taste only for the most ordinary. For then, they can wear the same thing over and over again without inviting any kind of judgements. The last statement might not be true in reality but might reflect the thinking of such people.

Those who only want to talk and neither want attention nor want to spend a lot, will buy the most ordinary, non-dintinct and unblingy designs. For once, there might be no design. It might just be a placebo sort of jewelry.

Those who rely only on their looks to muster attention and do not mind spending will buy distinct and full-of-bling designs.

Those who are not bothered about deliberately garnering attention but are sufficiently careful about how they look, tend to choose unique or distinct designs, with or without bling. They might have a lot or only a limited amount to spend.

There are obvious questions here. I surmise that bling is relatively clear to understand. Uniqueness or distinctiveness is of course devoid of massiness. Let's say such stuff isn't commonly seen.

Any views?

What do you value in Taj Mahal?

What do you value in Taj Mahal? The amount of white marble used? The design and architecture? The historical significance?

The same questions apply to a lot of other objects. I retail earrings, so my reference is to earrings. People often have questions like these. What value do we get if we resell? What is the value of silver?

The reality is we can make the same stuff in copper or brass. Metal is just a little part of the value and affects the price of the eventual product based on commodity prices. It is the design and the craftsmanship which we charge for. And the price of that design/craftsmanship would stay the same whatever the metal.

Then why use silver? Simply because it scores higher than other metals in most important properties and, very importantly, it is long-lasting.

Goddesses, Jewellery, Earrings, Indian Women, Education & Hypotheses

Note: The article is written only out of curiosity and in the spirit of inquiry. Any views expressed are mine and I do not mean any offence to the religion or religious sentiments of the followers of the religion.

These are the kind of images that have stayed in my mind ever since my childhood, especially from the Diwali poojas conducted at our place. And I've found similarly created idols in temples also. Majority of Indians who follow the Hindu religion are exposed to such images all through their lives, I reckon .

I pulled these images doing a simple search on Google. Have a look at the jewelry the goddesses are shown wearing.

Source: http://www.iloveindia.com/spirituality/goddesses/index.html

Source: http://www.topnews.in/villagers-idolize-lakshmi-goddess-sans-extra-limbs-210338

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_deities

When an Indian woman gets married, she's often referred to as Laxmi on her arrival at her new home. Wives or daughter-in-laws are seen as human avatars of Laxmi.

I can't help but think and hypothesize that this constant exposure among men and women to such images and to such references, and especially as part of practicing religion in our country, is a very very strong influence on people's preference for gold jewelry.

At Mississippi, we work with Silver which is white. But in my interactions with visitors, I often observe a profound faith in the metal 'gold' and a deep preference for the color 'gold'. Youngsters (let's say, less than 25 yrs of age), more or less, don't seem to care much for the color of the metal.

At Mississippi, we also try to promote a 'clean look'. That's why the focus on 'earrings' and even among 'earrings', a focus on lightness and 'cleanliness' in designs. But visitors are astonished (pleasantly most often :)) by such an offering. Observe what all are the goddesses wearing! In this context the 'cleanliness' that we are referring to might be difficult to digest, no? :)

When we indulge in conversations related to 'investment' and 'design' and 'workmanship' and 'value', sometimes visitors seem surprised, even dumbstruck (and perhaps offended) by what I have to say and explain. (I won't repeat the same here. I've explained most of the things in the earlier posts on this blog.)

Indeed, lot of what I say goes against the conventional wisdom regarding jewelry buying in this country. Especially when such wisdom is symbolically depicted through the images of gods and goddesses and as part of religion, day in and day out.

And all the education of MBAs and 'finance' grads and stock-traders and investors and educated professionals doesn't help them tease apart the nuances of investment and fashion. Not even the soaring prices of Gold yet, I suppose.

It's a triple battle here :). Religion vs Education vs Market Dynamics+Environment. What education can't achieve against Religion might be brought forcibly into the general thinking by market dynamics and environment. Watch!

Will the jeweler serve as a banker?

In the context of buying jewelry, I hear people say, "If I have to spend xxx amount, I might as well go for 'real' jewelry. Gold and diamonds are an investment."

There are too many words and concepts here. And the juxtaposition of those words and concepts proves to be a little confusing. Confusing to the extent that it has almost become a gospel of sorts.

Mind that word, investment. Dictionary.com defines 'investment' as:

the investing of money or capital in order to gain profitable returns, as interest, income, or appreciation in value.

 And then there are words stated explicitly like 'jewelry', 'gold' and 'diamonds'. And there are unspoken words invoked by the explicitly stated words. Like 'jewelry' surely invokes 'workmanship' or what in common parlance, among the jewelry buying community, is stated as 'labor'.

Was just preparing the ground. Now let me get to the point.

When ones says 'investment', one is looking at appreciation of value. Few questions here, when will one decide to sell 'gold and diamond jewelry'? When it's an opportune time based on market prices? Or when it's a situation of monetary need for the owner of the jewelry?

I reckon most of the folks aren't following opportune market prices when it comes to gold and diamond jewelry. So the situation might be one of monetary need when one decides to sell such jewelry.

What does a typical jeweler do? Of course, he doesn't pay you for workmanship or art or labor. He would pay only for the purest gold and scarcest diamonds in the jewelry. There you go, you're not gonna get any return on the hefty price you paid for workmanship, unless it has some historical value. There was a time when the workmanship was nominally valued. No longer so.

And if the jeweler doesn't pay for his own workmanship, who will?

And what if it comes to a point where 50 customers with big 'gold and diamonds jewelry' simultaneously decide to sell their jewelry? Will the jeweler play a banker? If he anticipates more customers in the coming days wanting to sell their jewelry, will he honor those customers as well?

Your answer is as good as mine. A jeweler is a businessman, not a banker. He isn't a store of value for your savings like a typical bank is.

My two cents. Wear jewelry for enhancing the way you look. For indulging your taste for fineness, irrespective of whether gold or diamond or something. For maintaining a certain style. For making a statement if you so like.

Buy gold coins (not jewelry), if you are looking at investment. Keep the purposes of looking good and investing separate. That's when the greatest value will be unlocked. Clubbing the two might only lead to some burning.

As regards diamonds, I am very skeptical. Diamonds will be valued only if they are really unique. That means, scarce and with certain characteristics counted worthy of investment. Most diamonds in small jewelry might not count as scarce or worthy of investment. Diamond is forever. So is iron, copper, silver, gold, platinum, quartz, amethyst and whatever else.

These are heretical thoughts from the point of view of jewelry businessmen. You, the customer, needs to take care.

Why do Indian women typically suffer from cut-earlobes?

Why do Indian women typically suffer from cut-earlobes? Click on the pic above to enlarge and read. We hope this helps you make an informed choice when you buy earrings.

Face-shapes and Earrings

Sharing a few bits from observing prospects and customers at Mississippi. Let's say you were to classify shapes of faces in the following manner. Hope this helps you imagine:

Now I am particularly fond of long bar-shaped earrings and hoop earrings. And I have a tendency to recommend these two types very often. But recommendations differ based on face-shapes.

If you take the first two face-shapes - Pear and Square - in the second row, hoop earrings might not look that great. The same might apply to the third face-shape 'Round' as well. Coz hoop earrings might further make the face look wider which is not desirable. Instead long bar earrings might just accord great 'balance' to such a face.

Of course, this isn't a 'rule' and such matters are best decided by the wearer.

Pic courtesy: claritieyes (Quite a blog. Will help you choose the right spectacles.)

Mississippi Earrings in Femina

A little coverage that Mississippi Earrings got in Femina, Gujarat in the May 2012 issue. Have you dived into Mississippi yet?

Will my earrings make you Cinderella?

You bet if I were to create a TV advertisement or hire some ad agency, highly likely that's what the ad would end up conveying. Like many shampoo ads or soap ads or toothpaste ads do.

Nope, our earrings will add to what there is or mitigate what there shouldn't be. Means if you already have a great body or a great face, our earrings will accentuate that. Or you are fat, our earrings might reduce the displeasure of being fat or being seen as fat. That's it.

Looking good and feeling good is a matter of combination (body + the ensemble you wear). In that having a good body is a necessary condition. I said 'looking good and feeling good'. And how you look is so much to do with how you feel. For those who workout, or run, or swim, or undergo some vigorous physical work would what 'feel' means. Physical movement of body has such an impact on the way you 'feel', it automatically makes you look good, whatever you wear.

So earrings might not make you a cinderella but might bring great cheerings to your face. A good body is your best style statement. All else depends on that.

20 Times Charming

for one *old set o' darling,
you could be 20 times charming!

While this expression is poetic, the phenomenon is slightly mathematical :).

Suppose you buy a pair of gold earrings which weighs 10 grams. How much would it cost you? Let me take two major heads of pricing: metal cost and labor. At Rs.2700/gm of gold and, assuming a conservative Rs.300/gm of labor. The price of your earrings will be nothing less than Rs.30,000/- at least. And add a few gemstones or diamonds and the labor of setting them as per the design, the price will easily fall in the range of Rs.35,000 to Rs.50,000. And depending on the size of the diamonds or gemstones, it could shoot well beyond Rs.50,000 easily. 60k, 70k, 80k or even 1 lakh.

Now, suppose the same design is rendered in silver. Yes, it can be with same fineness, finesse and sophistication. For metal and labor, it would cost just Rs.3600/-. And if you are wise enough to go for some good diamond-like or gemstone-like crystals or beads, within Rs.4000/-, you can get a fabulous pair.

So after having spent Rs.4000/- on a pair of lovely silver earrings, you might have quite some amount on hand. If investment in gold was what you were looking for, go ahead and buy 10gms of gold. It will 99.99% gold, instead of 91.6% which is typically given to you when you buy gold jewelry but which is charged for at the price of 99.99%. All this will fetch you additional metal worth Rs.2000/- at least as against what you would have got if you were to buy gold jewelry of the same weight.

The interesting part is when you sell this gold. Again, jewelers have a habit of cutting design costs and value the metal at exactly 91.6% when gold is a part of jewelry. But when gold is in its pure form, 99.99%, you actually get that value when you go to sell.

If you want great designs and great looks, silver can offer you that. And if you want investment, let it be gold. When you mix the two, that's when you lose money. Unless of course, by adding gold to your looks, you intend to showcase your wealth! 

In fact, if you are fond of earrings, the silver can give you 10-20 pairs within the price of one gold pair. Ideally I should say "10 to 20 times charming", but then 20 times charming is more alluring and tempting. No? :)

What are collectible motif earrings?

You see in the ad, right below the name Mississippi, we write "collectible motif earrings". What do these words really mean?

'Collectible' refers to the lasting qualities of our designs as opposed to 'junkness' of a lot of jewelry available these days. And when I say 'junkness' I mean, you wouldn't necessarily be hurt if you lost your junk jewelry, unless you've paid a hefty sum when buying. 'Junkness' also refers to what we typically call 'artificial jewelry'.

Motif? In the above design, the inspiration is a heart. You can see in the design, traces of the shape of a heart. Likewise, designs draw inspiration from many other shapes/motifs like flowers, leaves, rectangles, sandunes, mango (keri), twisted shapes, etc.

Hope the collectible motif earrings become more understandable now. Here are some of the motif-based collections at Mississippi (missi.in).

Dunes Earrings (inspired by Sandunes)
Keri Earrings (inspired by Mango)
Micronas Earrings (based on micro-paved diamond-laying technology)
Rexy Earrings (Rectangular + Sexy :))
Savior Earrings (inspired by Leaves & Trees)
Smile of God Earrings (inspired by Flowers)
Twistles Earrings (Twisted Shapes)

We are working on some more collections too.

So what motifs do you have in your collection of earrings or jewelry?

Consumerism and gifting and selling and marketing

I had a little exchange with friends around Valentine's Day. While here you find two screen-shots I saw some others also with similar updates.

I shudder to think of writing on such a topic. That's why perhaps it took me days to write this. But am writing nonetheless. For, if attempted in all earnestness, it can almost turn into a book. One tour of cultural-philosophical-ontological history :). Besides, I am not necessarily equipped with all the matter. Anyway, here are a few bits. Can't deny that there's a connection which we all feel with such sentiments whenever expressed.

Can things advertised as gifts or celebration of love/Valentine's Day be touted just as "the same old thing being labelled as 'love' and getting sold!"? 

And can Valentine's Day just be called "Happy unimaginative consumerist oriented and entirely manipulative shallow interpretation of romance day"?

The words in inverted commas in both the questions seem to convey that 'marketing' means 'new'. And there seems to be a rather derogatory view of 'selling'. As if it's mere business. It's sheer manipulation.

One point is that the expression of 'love' needn't necessarily be words and acts like hugs and kisses. The expression of 'love' can just as easily be a new act like making coffee for your beloved when you've never done that earlier. Or may be, the expression of 'love' can just as easily be an object, which will bring on his/her face a smile and fulfill some small little desire, if there was any, expressed or unexpressed.

Acts and objects both require energy. On most occasions, both cost. For some acts though, the math of costing is yet not possible, for good or for bad. For objects, if you are making them yourself, you'll spend money, or energy or time for which eventually you'll pay in kind. Or if you are buying or arranging an act, surely you'll spend money.

Romance and love wouldn't be romance and love, if sellers and marketers are expected to set it all up for you. There are some things money can't buy. Just aid. They can at best give you options or create options, choice is still yours and imbuing your choice with meaning depends on the strength of your feeling. If you want to do something really different or unique, why not develop a skill to do it yourself? Or why not think of a plan which makes the day different? Why depend on just marketers/sellers to do it all for you? And if you aren't depending on marketers/sellers, why be so cynical/critical of what they are doing!

From a seller's/marketer's point-of-view, there are numerous people in this country who've lived in conditions that, forget buying an object or indulging in any action, they've perhaps not been able to feel any act of love (romantic or otherwise) towards them. Perhaps days meant for overt celebration like Valentine's Day opens up just those occasions to feel that feeling. And a simple thing like gifting a pair of earrings (for example, since we retail that) becomes a memorable event. There need to be people who offer those simple beautiful things/events too.

There are numerous first timers and numerous things which these numerous people will do for the first time. In their capacities, they might not have the skill to do things on their own. A lot of marketers and sellers, and a lot of marketing and selling are for those people. And I can tell you, there are numerous couples, married and unmarried, among whom gifting a pair of earrings hasn't happened yet :).

Besides, at Mississippi we kept some lovely greeting cards for people gifting their Valentines. Now you would say, what's the great shake in that. There are people who are gifting like this for the first time. For them, it's special. Non-manipulative. Little but nice.

I, for one, haven't yet done many simple things/acts over the years. But gradually, on occasions, am doing those little things in my life and celebrating. Yeah, if you've done all the little things possible to express or convey your love and now want a great grand experience, any marketer will charge. Yes, you can yourself definitely plan little small things in a sequence such that in totality it becomes a grand celebration. But even that costs.

If marketers and sellers aren't doing anything worthwhile, think of what it could be and enter the arena. You might get all the mission and money, and create all the new and imaginative and meaningful stuff/experiences in the world.

Buy the feeling or buy the metal?

India has been a gold-buying nation.

If they don't buy gold, then they buy the color 'gold' (in the form of imitation jewelry/fashion jewelry). In buying the color, buyers want to camouflage their inability to buy the real gold. In other words, in whatever form, they want to convey that they are wealthy by whatever means.

Sure, conveying that you have wealth is a fitness indicator and helps create many desirable perceptions about you. But when you look into the mirror, what you want to look at is 'how you look' and not 'how much wealth you have'.

I must that hazard a guess that seeing/showing you have wealth might just make you feel that you look good. Possible. Commission a study, please :).

I am a simpler, straighter man. When I look into the mirror, I feel, I look either good or not-so-good. I choose stuff accordingly. It should convince me on many parameters. Its durability, its refinement, its color, its price, its design, its match with my attitude. In short, my ways of choosing are sort of 'holistic' most often. Am sure, for many many people it's the same.

So back to the point. Needless to say Gold is a good metal for jewelry. But it's might expensive. Brass, copper, etc. are used extensively in imitation jewelry because they are dirt-cheap for the purpose. But they are also 'coarse' metals. A slight closer look might reveal that they are nowhere near the refinement that one observes in Gold, no matter what the intricacy of the design.

And it is here that Silver as a metal for jewelry really helps. It's not as cheap as copper or brass but it is mighty cheaper than Gold. It lends itself to refinement as good as that found in Gold or Platinum. Any kind intricate designing work is possible at the same cost (perhaps cheaper) when compared to cost incurred in case of Gold.

People say Gold is good for investment. Sure it is. So buy Gold. In situations of monetary difficulties, you can easily sell the same. But if you buy Gold jewelry, then you're letting go of not just the metal but also the design (the workmanship and its value, which is the real part of jewelry).

Buying jewelry in Silver means you've paid very little for metal and therefore, no pressure on you to sell during adverse monetary conditions. You can look good even in adverse times :), so to say. Guess, that's what you buy jewelry for. Look elegant, graceful, charming no matter what the time.

Important to decouple investment and looks. You sell the investment (Gold) but never the looks (your face, the jewelry that adds to the beauty of your face).

Make Corporate Gifting Interesting with Earrings

At one time, may be, the pens and diaries and pen-stands and photo-frames and coasters and crockery and jugs and such must have felt good. No longer. Reasons?

Sometimes defective goods are turned into corporate gifts. The receivers don't like that. And the gifters - the corporates - don't get the credit.

People have become more stylish. Or rather, they like to express/show their likes and dislikes. Also, uniformity isn't quite in vogue.

There could be more reasons. But here's the thing. For an office/organization filled with women, how about a chance to give a unique gift to each one of them? Yesssss! You guessed it right. Earrings!

At Mississippi Earrings, I suppose every woman can find a unique corporate gift for herself. And you'll see beaming faces. Guaranteed!

If you are part of such an organization where there are lot of women, think about it. It could be one fun-filled gesture - gifting earrings to the female members. In fact even to male members (of course, for their wives :)).

We design earrings to be able to afford observing great faces

I read this a long time back on http://mnmlist.com. Sharing it here:

I’ve been learning a bit about beers lately (and enjoying the learning process) and on the top beer ratings sites a beer from the Westvleteren Brewery tops the rankings.

It’s a Belgium beer brewed by monks who absolutely fascinate me. They brew the best beer in the world and yet seem to care nothing about business. As their beer has gained fame they refuse to raise production to meet demand. They refuse to market their beers and have no label on their bottles. They do no advertising and don’t allow interviews or tours of their brewery — you can visit a visitors’ center across the street but they don’t want to be bothered.

You can only buy two cases at a time and you have to drive to their brewery to get it — and only after reserving via phone.

They are crazy dudes but I love them. They are not interested in making money or fame or accomplishments. They just want to be monks.

Father Abbott said on the occasion of the consecration of their new brewery “But we do not live ‘for’ our brewery. This must be strange for business people and difficult to understand that we do not exploit our commercial assets as much as we can.”

He went on to say “We are no brewers. We are monks. We brew beer to be able to afford being monks.”

I’m with him.

I am not a blogger. I am no author. I am a simple man who enjoys a simple life with his family. I write to be able to afford living that simple life.

Now, this is what I have to say :)

Call this our mission as well :)

List of gifts for your beloved

While compiling this list I assume a romantic man-woman relationship. Surely there are other relationship possibilities, and therefore more gifting options, but for now just this :). Hope this list helps.

• Flowers - Though a very popular way of greeting, am not particularly fond of bouquets. For me, a flower or two just serves great.
• Soft Toys - I've observed what happens in India, so commenting on the basis of that. Soft toys are a great gift largely among teenagers and college-going youngsters.
• Greeting Cards - I wonder in the digital age, how often people convey feelings through greeting cards.
• Chocolates - All-time favorite. And with more brands and varieties of chocolate available in the market, it has just become more tempting. :)
• Cakes - Perhaps on special occasions like wedding anniversaries and birthdays. 
• Books - For the bibliophiles! :) Risky but always a great gift if you get it right.
• Music - Again, you need to get the taste right.
• Wrist Watches - I find them tempting often but redundant too, since a good mobile phone can grace the hand and inform you about the time as well ;)
• Jewelry
• Earrings - That's the thing I prefer to gift. Of course, one needs to get the taste right. The only piece of jewelry that adds to a woman's face - a face that you fall in love with. That's the reason we started Mississippi!
• Pendants - When matched with earrings, adds more joy :)
• Finger-rings - Yes, all the manicure isn't invested in for no reason. Finger-rings can really add beauty to a woman's hand. When clubbed with earrings, nothing better.
• Bracelets - Guess, not all women are fond of bracelets. But any piece of jewelry can light them up :)
• T-shirts - Safe gift. Get the message right.
• Dresses - I've seen people giving such gifts but feel they are slightly outdated. Also, got to get the taste right.
• Handbags - Great gifts I suppose. My Dad has often gifted my Mom some beautiful handbags over many many years.
• Wallets - Why not! But one needs to know, in case of gifting to a woman, whether it's a habit or not...
• Art Objects - Gift shops are supposedly replete with such things but I find them in very poor taste. Instead, I might just prefer to gift a Marc Johns artwork.
• Gadgets -  Is there an end? :D
• Mobile Phones - Yup, always a great gift especially if you know he/she has eyes on some particular model.
• iPods - Do I need to say?
• iPads - Do I need to say?
• ebook Reader - For bibliophiles, a gem!
• Digital Photo-frames - Can't fancy that yet.
• Diaries - More for men I suppose.
• Pens - Again men, I suppose.
• Magazine Subscription - I've received Magazine Subscriptions as gifts. Not sure if they are popular. But yes, a thoughtful gift.
• Travel Packages - Expensive I suppose. :)
• Cash - Would say only when you are extremely clueless and have nothing that can add to another person's well-being :)
• Gift Vouchers - Great! Always!

Of course, it's a decent list but not exhaustive for sure. Quite a few omissions I am sure. Cigarette-smoking guys might love a Zippo as gift, for example :). I've seen women given even flip-flops as gifts :)... Depends on how deeply you know the other person.

I prefer to gift earrings, earrings and more earrings.